Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-52029

RCE in Totolink A3700R Firmware 9.1.2u.5822_b20200513

Public PoCRCECommand Injection
Published
11 January 2024
Modified
20 June 2025
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.017 75th percentile
Risk Priority 82 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-52029 is a critical-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Totolink A3700R Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 25% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

TOTOlink A3700R firmware version 9.1.2u.5822_B20200513 contains a remote command execution vulnerability in the setDiagnosisCfg function. The flaw is tracked as CVE-2023-52029 with a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 and is associated with CWE-78, indicating improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command.

Unauthenticated attackers with network access can invoke the affected function to inject and execute arbitrary operating-system commands. Successful exploitation grants full control over the device, allowing disclosure or modification of data and disruption of router operation.

The provided references consist of technical write-ups that demonstrate the issue but contain no vendor advisory, firmware update, or mitigation guidance. The EPSS score has remained steady at 0.1549 with no material increase after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

TOTOlink A3700R v9.1.2u.5822_B20200513 was discovered to contain a remote command execution (RCE) vulnerability via the setDiagnosisCfg function.

CWE(s)
NVD-CWE-noinfoCWE-78

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-52028Same product: Totolink A3700R
CVE-2023-50147Same product: Totolink A3700R
CVE-2024-7160Same product: Totolink A3700R
CVE-2023-46574Same product: Totolink A3700R
CVE-2023-52027Same product: Totolink A3700R
CVE-2024-22663Same product: Totolink A3700R
CVE-2023-48192Same product: Totolink A3700R
CVE-2023-52030Same product: Totolink A3700R
CVE-2024-37640Same product: Totolink A3700R
CVE-2024-37633Same product: Totolink A3700R

Affected Assets

totolink
a3700r firmware
9.1.2u.5822_b20200513

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8
  • V15.2.5

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing or incorrect command sanitization during development.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

Input validation directly neutralizes or rejects special characters that would otherwise alter OS command structure.

AC-6 Least Privilege partial match

Least privilege reduces the permissions available to any process that could be subverted by injected commands.

CM-7 Least Functionality partial match

Least functionality restricts available OS commands and interpreters, limiting the blast radius of injection.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Secure engineering principles require proper neutralization of untrusted input before command construction.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing and code review target insecure use of operating-system command interfaces, catching command-injection flaws introduced during development.

References